North Dakota trip

We had a great time with my family in North Dakota the last week in July.  All of us gathered at Jonathan and Sarah's house, and then journeyed west several hours to stay at a Lutheran camp.  I had always pictured North Dakota as flat farmlands, but was surprised to find that some of it is quite hilly with a lot of trees and water.  Our cabin by the lake was very nice, surrounded by trees and with a view of the lake.  Besides a few mishaps with some animals, fondly referred to as the "plagues," we had a fun week.  After our third day of animal encounters, we began to wonder what was next:

Day One:  Hornets--Bella discovered a hornets' nest and was stung several times, along with Ryan who rescued her.

Day Two:  Mice--Ryan and Rachel awoke very early to a mouse crawling over their beds!

Day Three:  Horse--James got bit feeding a horse.

Day Four:  Leeches--Jonathan and I got leeches stuck on us while swimming in the lake.

Day Five:  Tick--Jonathan pulled a tick off of himself.

All in all, it could have been a lot worse.

A shot of all the cousins:
Bella (2), James (2), Michael (2 months), Benjamin (5), Bo (13 months), and Paul (2)

The big cousins

We had a campfire two nights and roasted s'mores.

Playing in the sand at a state park.

Hopefully Michael didn't get too spoiled by all the people around to hold him!

 The camp had paddle boats, canoes, and kayaks for us to use.  There was also a small swimming area.

The kids' first time in Canada!

Baseball, of course!

 Holding our new cousin, Michael.

Bo had some stranger anxiety while we were there, and always wanted Mom or Dad in sight.  However, Grandma playing the piano was too much to resist!  He had to sit on her lap.

The tooth fairy visits!

Benjamin lost his first tooth on Sunday evening.  We discovered it was loose a month or so ago, when he tried to eat corn on the cob.  He finally wiggled it loose, and was very excited to have a visit from the tooth fairy that night.

Just some pictures

Latest skill on the swing set for Benjamin--jumping off the swing.

Latest skill on the swing set for Paul--swinging on the "big boy" swing we recently added.

John Deere tractor?  Or Lightning McQueen?

Bunny watching

How we do tea parties at our house.
I asked Benjamin what all the cars were doing.  He said it was tea time.

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

We had a great day on Sunday celebrating Jonathan's birthday.  After church, lunch, cake, and presents, we made the drive to Jonathan's favorite beach in Rhode Island.  We had a fun afternoon of playing in the waves and sand.

Lunch Conversation

Yesterday at lunch, Benjamin took a chip off of Paul's plate.  Then he said, "Paul try to take a chip off my plate."
So, Paul managed to get half a chip out of Benjamin's grasp and ate it.
Benjamin said, "Paul you can't eat my food!"  I don't think Benjamin thought Paul could really get it away from him.
I pointed out that Benjamin had done the same thing, and then told Paul to take his food.
After about half of lunch was gone, Benjamin said, "I wish Paul had a hole in his stomach with a hand crank in it."
"What?  Why?"
"Because then I could get my chip back!"

Grandpa and Grandma visit

Jonathan's parents came for a visit the past two weeks.  We had a great time playing, picnicking, and enjoying a lot of outdoor time.

 Two favorite past times:  rock climbing and rock throwing.

Waiting for the Fourth of July parade to start.

Vermont

While Jonathan's parents were here, we spent a few days in Vermont.  Someone we know has family who own a ski chalet, so we stayed there for several nights.  All of us went there together, and then Jonathan's parents took the boys home while we stayed two extra days to celebrate our 10th anniversary.  It was the first time we'd left Paul overnight, but all went well.  It was nice to sleep past 5:30 a.m. for a change!

As you can see by the clothes, we had some chilly weather at first.

The Floridians enjoying a fire.

We went hiking and saw several different waterfalls.

The weather warmed up while Jonathan and I were there, so we were able to swim in some of the swimming holes in the rivers.  The water was so clear and felt so clean!